Richmond Civil War site among 'most endangered' battlefields

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Southwestern desert peak where cavalryclashed nearly 150 years ago has joined an annual list of thenation's most endangered Civil War battlefields because statebudget cuts are set to close the park that marks the site. Picacho Peak in Arizona, the Western frontier in the battlebetween the North and the South, was named for the first time onthe Civil War Preservation Trust's annual list of 10 historicbattlefields most threatened by development or neglect. The listwas released Thursday in Washington, D.C. In addition to Pennsylvania's Gettysburg and the WildernessBattlefield in Virginia, the list includes some memorable battleswaged in states where the Civil War still resonates on the eve ofits 150th anniversary. They are located primarily in the South andthe Mid-Atlantic. For sheer distance, Picacho Peak stands apart from the rest. Thestate park is slated to close June 3 because of budget cuts. On April 12, 1862, Lt. James Barrett led a detachment of Unioncavalry to the rocky spire 50 miles northwest of Tucson andskirmished with Confederate Rangers, intent on blunting anocean-to-ocean Confederacy. While Barrett was killed and the Unionarmy retreated, Union forces from California eventually moved on toTucson and snuffed a Confederate settlement. The battle, while a footnote in Civil War history, stillattracts annual visits by re-enactors. "A lot of people who come from the East use it as a vacation,"Ellen Bilbrey, a spokeswoman for Arizona State Parks, said of theCivil War re-enactors. A fund drive launched in nearby Eloy, Ariz., is attempting tokeep the park open, and the inclusion by the trust in its annualendangered list is a boost to that effort, she said. "Any attention, of course is going to assist people who aretrying to keep that park open," she said. The Arizona State Parks Board next week will consider anagreement that would keep Picacho Peak open for at least a year.Under the agreement, the city of Eloy would pay $20,000 tosubsidize the operation and maintenance of the park. The board has adopted a number of similar agreements to keepopen historical and recreational parks across Arizona. Called "History Under Siege," the most-endangered list isintended to highlight threats to what the trust calls "tangiblelinks to our shared history." With the nation about to mark 150years since the start of the Civil War, the 2010 installment wasreleased with the support of Jeff Shaara, a member of the trust'sboard and author of "Gods and Generals," among other books on theCivil War. "Nothing creates an emotional connection between present andpast like walking in the footsteps of our Civil War soldiers,"Shaara said in remarks prepared for the formal release of the list. His father, Michael Shaara, wrote "The Killer Angels," ahistorical novel on Gettysburg. The battlefield where 160,000 Unionand Confederate soldiers fought in the summer of 1863 is on theendangered list because of a second attempt to bring casinogambling within one-half-mile of Gettysburg National Military Park. Like Gettysburg, Virginia's Wilderness Battlefield was alsomaking a repeat appearance on the list. In this case, Wal-MartStores Inc. is facing fierce resistance to building a Supercenterwithin a cannon's shot of where Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grantfirst met on the field of battle. The others in the top 10 and the threats, as defined by thetrust: - Camp Allegheny, W.Va., where wind turbines on a high ridgeacross the border in Virginia threaten to blot the view from thebattlefield. - Pickett's Mill, Ga., which is amid cuts in public funding and,last fall, saw foot bridges and portions of a mill damaged by floodwaters. - Fort Stevens, Washington, D.C., threatened by a proposedchurch community center that will tower over the fort wherePresident Lincoln was the target of sharpshooters. - Cedar Creek, Va., a mine expansion that would chew up nearly400 acres of battlefield. - Richmond, Ky., a new highway interchange that will likelyattract commercial growth. - South Mountain, Md., the feared development of an energyplant. - Thoroughfare Gap, Va., the possible construction of a 150-footcommunications tower. Besides the 10 most-endangered list, the trust also included 15"at risk" sites.

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